Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with an Iowa Twist

Nothing says winter food quite like winter squash. From pumpkins to acorn squash, I love them all. One of the most popular winter squash is the butternut. It's a firm squash and holds it's shape well, making it a great squash for roasting. I love tossing some cubed butternut squash and potatoes and roasting them alongside a pork loin or turkey breast. Butternut squash lends itself well to both savory and sweet preparations and makes a great "pumpkin" pie.

Butternut squash also makes a very wonderful soup! Roasting first brings out it's sweetness and sauteed onions and herbs combine to make a delicious and filling fall soup. This soup is a little lighter than some recipes, with no added heavy cream, and gets a little Iowa personalization with the flavor boost from bacon. Iowa pork farmers are proud producers of some of the best bacon in the world. This soup makes a great first course, a light lunch or a great dinner by the fireplace with a thick and gooey grilled cheese on hearty artisan bread.

Let's make our Iowa Butternut Squash Soup! You will need-

• 8 cups cubed butternut squash
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• salt and pepper
• 1 medium onion
• olive oil
• several sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 6 slices bacon

Melt the butter in a shallow roasting pan. Add the cubed squash, toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in a 375 degree oven until tender but don't let the squash brown. Remove from the oven and set aside. I am using butter-
nut squash that I had canned previously, so I can skip the roasting step. I still want to season with salt and pepper though.

In a large stockpot heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion, season again with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until translucent and tender. Add the thyme sprigs, the cubed squash and chicken stock and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

While the soup simmers, prepare the bacon. Cut the bacon slices into lardons. Cook in a skillet until crisp and browned. Remove to a paper towel and let drain. Add a teaspoon of bacon drippings to soup.

Remove the thyme sprigs from the soup. Using a food processor, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Return to stockpot. Reheat over low heat.

To serve, ladle into bowls, sprinkle with the crumbled bacon and additional thyme leaves or chopped chives. 

This soup just screams comfort to me. I have loads of quarts of butternut squash canned in the pantry so it's super easy to get dinner on the table- just drain, drizzle with butter and give it a quick roast and you're ready to go. With all this bread-baking I've been doing, this soup is going to be a mainstay for the winter. I'm going to switch it up and use Hubbard squash, Delicata and some of the other squash I have stored away too!

Cleaning out the freezer cake

Remember last fall when we had bushels upon bushels of apples at the Little Lake House? Roasters full of apple butter simmered for days, and the cupboards quickly filled with jars of cinnamony apple goodness for toast, and many, many jars of applesauce. The dehydrator worked overtime drying apple chips for snacking, and a stack of ready-to-bake pies went into the freezer. But not only pies went in the freezer. Bags and bags of sliced apples, waiting for cakes, pies, jams and more still fill the freezer. I need to make room for fresh things from this season!

Apple cake has always been a favorite of mine. It's easy to mix up and get in the oven. No need to haul out the big Kitchenaid- you can mix this up with a whisk in a bowl. The bonus is, it's a great way to use up all those sliced apples in the freezer. It's homey, old-fashioned and reminds me of old church cookbook recipes.

I had canned apples, frozen apples, apple butter, apple sauce......

To make the cake you need:

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 tsp cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups sliced, peeled apples (I am using frozen)

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (black walnuts are excellent)

In bowl, stir together dry ingredients and set aside. In large bowl whisk eggs and oil together until well combined. Whisk in sugars and vanilla until completely combined. Gradually mix in dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Don't worry if the batter seems dry- it should be a lot like cookie dough.

During baking the apples release enough liquid to moisten the cake. Fold in apples and walnuts.

I used pecans because that's what I had on hand.

Spread the mixture into a greased and floured cake pan (I am using a 9x13 pan) and spread and "smoosh" it down evenly. 

Bake in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes in a 9x13 pan, or 55-60 minutes in a Bundt pan. You can also bake this batter in muffin tins (bake about 20-25 minutes) and then pop them in the freezer for easy-to-thaw snacks or even breakfast. **Note- since I am working with frozen sliced apples I am adding about 8-10 minutes to my baking time. If you use frozen, be sure and allow for that. DO NOT thaw apples first though. They won't fold in, they will break up.

My mom often added raisins to this cake too, which is super delicious. You will want to eat this one up fast- the apples keep the cake so moist. You can serve this cake with a dollop of whipped cream but you DEFINITELY don't need frosting. A drizzle of caramel sauce on the plate before adding the cake looks elegant, but go easy on the caramel with this rich cake. It also looks pretty with a little sprinkle of confectioners' sugar dusted over the top- but do so immediately before serving as the cake is so moist it will melt the sugar after a bit. 

Keep an eye out for more apple recipes coming up soon- I have A LOT to use up.